Skis made from recycled turbine blades to hit the slopes

Skis from recycled turbine blades are set to hit the slopes as part of an energy company’s circular economy efforts.

Swedish state-owned firm Vattenfall has collaborated with material extraction firm Gjenkraft and sustainable ski-maker Evi to use alternative materials for high-performance skis.

While large parts of end-of-service wind turbines can be recycled, the composite make-up of the blades means separating and recycling the materials at scale is difficult.

Vattenfall has been rolling out a series of projects to find solutions that can help the firm meet its target to be able to recycle 100% of its turbines by 2030.

The energy firm joined the collaboration with Gjenkraft and Evi to transform broken or worn-out skis into new pairs, incorporating carbon fibres extracted from decommissioned Vattenfall blades to reinforce the skis, enhancing their durability and performance.

© Supplied by Vattenfall

Vattenfall said it has so far ordered 15 pairs from Evi, including alpine skis, carving skis and one pair of race skis.

A ski test site will be set up next to the racetrack at the World Cup Women’s slalom in Are, Sweden, on March 8 and 9, where visitors can test the skis, the firm said.

Gustav Frid, environment and sustainability specialist at Vattenfall, said: “Circularity is essential to securing future resource needs, reducing costs and achieving our sustainability targets.

“This project perfectly illustrates how technology provides a sustainable alternative to traditional ski-making materials.

“We hope it will inspire others and foster new ideas for accelerating circularity.”

Marcin Rusin, co-founder of Gjenkraft, said: “Our goal has always been to demonstrate that this issue can be resolved.

“We already had the technology to recover valuable raw materials from composite waste, the next step was to find a high-end product that would appeal to the public.

© Supplied by Vattenfall

“As a Norwegian company with team members who are enthusiastic about skiing, deciding to manufacture skis was a natural fit. We are very excited to see this concept come to fruition.”

Endre Hals, founder of Evi skis, said: “We are humbly aware that a small ski producer like Evi will never be able to make a big impact on the use of this kind of industrial waste.

“Therefore, we are extra stoked that Gjenkraft and Vattenfall want to work with us to realise this awesome vision for the future of product development.”